484 FRINGILLID.E. 



One of the best of the recently published accounts of this 

 bird is in the first volume of the Magazine of Zoology and 

 Botany. Mr. Henry Doubleday, the author of the paper, 

 residing at Epping, within a short distance of Epping Forest, 

 one of the localities in which these birds abound, says, " I 

 have for some years past given close attention to their habits, 

 and I can safely assert, that they are permanent residents, 

 nor can I perceive any addition to their numbers by the ar- 

 rival of foreigners at any period of the year. 



" Their extreme shyness has no doubt contributed to keep 

 us in ignorance of their habits and economy ; in this trait 

 they exceed any land bird with which I am acquainted, and 

 in open places it is almost impossible to approach them 

 within gun-shot. Their principal food here appears to be the 

 seed of the Hornbeam, {Carpinus betuhis, Linn.) which is the 

 prevailing species of tree in Epping Forest ; they also feed 

 on the kernels of the haws, plum stones, laurel berries, &c., 

 and in summer make great havoc amongst green peas in gar- 

 dens in the vicinity of the forest." 



" About the middle of April they pair, and in a week or 

 two commence nidification. The situation of the nest is 

 various ; but is most commonly placed in an old scrubby 

 whitethorn bush, often in a very exposed situation ; they also 

 frequently build on the horizontal arms of large oaks, the 

 heads of pollard hornbeams, in hollies, and occasionally in 

 fir trees in plantations ; the elevation at which the nest is 

 placed varying from five to twenty-five or thirty feet. The 

 most correct description of the nest which I have seen is in 

 Latham''s Synopsis. It is there said to be composed of the 

 dead twigs of oak, honeysuckle, &c. intermixed with pieces 

 of grey lichen ; the quantity of this last material varies much 

 in different nests, but it is never absent ; in some it is only 

 very sparingly placed among the twigs ; in others the greater 

 part of the nest is composed of it ; the lining consists of fine 



